Suction cleaner



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 M y QM d y W mw ww mm SUCTION CLEANER May 29, 1951 Filed Aug. 21. 1946 May 29, 1951 E. l.. SNYDER I 2,555,253

SUCTION CLEANER Fileg Aug. 21, 1946 s sheets-sheet 2 w V l M fl o if@ s i f s? N wrm-1. i @Fh l I a f NI l I @vi I?? www?? vage/ Snyder E. L. SNYDER SUCTION CLEANER May 29, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 21, 1946 Patented May 29, 1951 sUc'rIoN CLEANER Eugene L. Snyder, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 21, 1946, Serial No. 691,984

(Cl. 18S- 59) 3 Claims. l

The present invention relates to suction cleaners in general and more particularly to a new and improved iilter-cleaning mechanism in a suction cleaner.

An object of the invention is to provide a new and improved suction cleaner. Another object is to provide a filter vibrating mechanism in a suction cleaner to dislodge dirt from the filter. A further object is to provide a iilter vibrating mechanism to receive a force applied by the operators hand or foot and including means to displace the operator applied force. Another object is to provide a collapsible device for removing the operators hand or foot employed in operating a filter-shaking mechanism. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section partly in elevation of the suction cleaner; Y

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom plane View;

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1, but showing the cleaner casing upended into iilter-shaking position and the filter-shaking mechanism at one end of its stroke;

Figure 6 is a sectional View of a modified filtershaking handle;

Figure 7 is a side elevation of the modified lter-shaking handle in operating position; and

Figure 8 is a section along the line 8-8 in Figure 6 and showing the filter-shaking handle in inoperative position.

The embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figures 1 to 5 comprises a casing Iclosed at its exhaust end by a cap I I having an outlet port I3 adapted to receive the cleaner end of an unshown hose provided at its opposite end with a surface-cleaning tool in a manner well known in the art. The suction end of the casing I is closed by a removable end cap I4 provided with an inlet port I adapted to receive the cleaner end of the surface cleaning unit in the same manner as the outlet port I3. End cap I4 is removably attached to the casing l0 by being provided at its lower end with a protruding lip I6 which seats within a pocket II formed at the end of a bracket I8 mounted on the bottom wall I9 of the casing I0. A latch 2U is mounted on the top of the casing Ill and cooperates with the end cap I4 to force it against the end wall or face 2| of the casing I0, and a seal 22 prevents leakage of air therebe- 2 tween. Provided along the top of the cleaner casing is a handle 24 by which the operator can lift the cleaner from place to place. The cleaner casing is supported on and spaced from a supporting surface by a pair of runners 25, the front ends of which terminate short of the front end wall 2| of the casing I0.

Within the casing I0 is a motor 26 and a fan chamber 21 'in which are suction-creating fans driven by the motor 26. The motor-fan unit is supported at its forward end by a resilient rubber ring 2B which lies around the forward edge of the fan chamber 21 and is carried by a iixed bulkhead 29 in the casing Ill. At its opposite end the motor-fan unit is carried by a perforated bulkhead 30 xedly secured in the casing I0.

On the suction side of the motor-fan unit and between the bulkhead 29 and the cover I4, is positioned an air-permeable dirt bag 3I. The filter bag has a side wall 32, a closed end wall 33 and an open end, the latter being secured to an annular flange 34 deiining an inlet to the bag, the inlet being flush with the end wall 2l of the cleaner casing.

Disposed within the lter bag adjacent the closed end wall 33 is a bag frame 35 provided with an annular flange 36 of a diameter equal to the bag to stretch thereover the bag end wall 33, and the bag is secured to the flange by a clamp 31. The bag frame 35 is perforated for the passage of air through the end wall 33 of the bag.

The iilter bag shaking mechanism includes a slide or push bar 40 disposed between the casing flat bottom wall I9 and the motor-fan unit and is slidably enclosed in a guide casing 4I secured to the casing flat bottom wall I9 by rivets 42. The guide casing 4I is sealed at 43 about the bulkhead 29 to prevent leakage of air therebetween. Integral with and normal to the slide 40 is a bag supporting rod 44 which extends between the bulkhead 29 andthe end wall 33 of the bag and is connected to the center of the bag frame 35 and the closed bag end Wall 33 by a bolt and a wing nut 45, the latter being accessible from the interior of the bag to removably connect the bag. The bag-supporting rod 44 thus supports the closed end 33 of the bag. A guide rod 46 is connected to one end of the slide bar 40 as by welding and the opposite end of the guide rod is slidably supported in a bracket 41 welded to the casing bottom wall I9, and the guide rod 46 forms an axial extension of the slide 40 and is arranged between the lter bag 3l and the casing flat bottom wall I9. A spring 48 is coiled about the guide rod 46 between the bag-supporting rod 44 and the bracket 41 andAat all times exerts a force on the slide 40 to move it and the bag-supporting rod 44 toward the rear end cap |I, and thus the bag frame 35 to thereby maintain the filter bag taut.

To eiect movement of the slide 40 there is provided a handle 50 or knob mounted upon a pin 5| secured to the slide 40, and the pin 5| passes through a slot 52 in the bottom wall I9 of the casing and also through slots 53 and 54 in the guide casing 4|, and these slots are sufficiently elongated for the required movement of the slide and handle 50.

The handle 50 is arranged exteriorly of the casing bottom wall I9 longitudinally of the casing and between the skids --25 Movement of the handle 50 toward the front end ring 2| functions to also move the bag-supporting rod 44, and compress the springn48 to slacken the bag 3|. Upon release of the handle 50, the spring 4Bv jerks the bag frame 35, the bag-supporting rod 44, the slide 4D and its handle 50 back to their initial positions and vibrates the bag to dislodge the dirt therefrom. The bag 3| limits the return movement of the slide 4B and handle 59 to their initial positions. The bag shaker handle 50 has a surface 55 on which the operator places the palm of his hand to move the slide 4U for collapsing the bag. This surface 55 is inclinedoutwardly from the casing bottom wall i9 .and toward the front end 2|, whereby upon exerting a downward force on the handle 5d and movement of the latter is stopped by the pin 5| engaging the ends 56 of the slots 52, 53 and 54 the operators hand slips off the inclined face 55 of the handle to thereby permit the compressed spring 48 to abruptly return the bag 3i to its taut condition and the handle 50 and slide 40 to their initial positions.

In normal cleaner operation the dirt-laden air is drawn through a suitable cleaning tool unit connected to the inlet port i5 in the end cover 4 and passes into the filter bag 3|. The iilter bag removes from the air stream the suspended foreign material and the clean air passes outwardly through the side wall 32 and through the perforations in the bag-supporting frame 35 and into the space 5l dened by the surrounding main casing and bag 3 i. The cleaned air passes into the fan system at the eye of the fan chainber and is exhausted into the space 58 within the casing surrounding the motor. This space is separated from the space around the lter bag by the bulkhead 23. The air then passes through the outlet port i3 into the atmosphere. This operation can continue until such time as the accumulation of foreign material within the filter bag reduces the effective suction of the machine thereby reducing cleaner eniciency, and thereupon it becomes desirable to remove the foreign material from the bag.

The bag-cleaning operation comprises initially removing the front end cap i4. This is accomplished by the operator releasing the cover latch 2D whereupon the cover I4 pivots outwardly at its upper end to permit the downwardly extending lip i6 on the under side thereof to disengage its socket Il. The cleaner is then upended so that the ring or plate 2E lies ush upon the supporting surface which is preferably provided with a paper for receiving dirt. With the machine so positioned the cleaner casing is arranged vertically and the open end of the bag lies flush 4 with the supporting surface or the paper to receive the dirt to be dislodged from the bag.

To dislodge the foreign material from the bag, the operator places the palm of his hand on the inclined surface 55 of the handle and exerts a downward pressure thereon which moves the slide 40 toward the front end plate 2| of the cleaner or, in other words, toward the supporting surface and the operator can continue movement of the handle and slide downwardly until the pin 5| engages the ends 5S of the elongated slots. During downward movement of the `handle 5B and slide 4G the spring 48 is compressed and the bag-supporting rod 44 collapses thebag 3| by movement of the closed end wall 33 toward the iront end of the cleaner which slackens the material o1 the bag as shown in Figure 5.

ADov/inward movement of the handle 56 is Stopped when the handle pin 5| contacts the ends 56 of the slots 52, 53 and 54 and upon continued application of pressure on the inclined surface 55, the latter causes the operators hand to Slide on" the handle 5G and permits the coil spring 48 to jerk the bag-supporting rod 44 and the bag frame 35 back to their original positions, in which the bag 3| is taut and at the same time the slide 4G and handle 5E are moved back to their initial positions. This abrupt vibration of the bag effects the dislocation of the adhering foreign material within the bag whereupon the dislodged material falls downwardly through the central aperture of the bag ring 34 and accumu-v lates upon the underlying supporting surface. The movement of the bag-shaking handle 5G and slide 4&3 should be repeated a plurality of times to insure complete cleaning of the bag.

Ii desired, the operator can firmly grasp the handle 50 and reciprocate the latter to collapse and tighten the bag to dislodge the foreign material from the bag.

After the bag has been adequately cleaned, the operator need only tilt the machine back into its original operating position upon the supporting skids 25-25, replace the cover I4, and the machine is again ready for another normal surface-cleaning operation.

Another embodiment of the invention for operating the filter-shaking mechanism is disclosed in Figures 6 to 8 and comprises a body Eil which is connected to the slide bar 4|) by a pin 6| Aslidably mounted in the elongated slots 53 and 54 in the guide casing 4| and the slot 52 in the casing at bottom wall I9. Pivotally mounted on the body 6G by means ol' a pin 52 is a handle 63 having a top wall 64, merging into a reversely curved wall 65, and opposed side walls {i6-56. The surface of the top wall 4 of the handle 63 is downwardly inclined for receiving a manually applied force. The handle 63 is normally urged to a projected position as shown in Figure 7 by a torsion spring (il arranged about the pin 62 and has one end bearing against a lug 68 on the body i and the opposite end of the spring G rests against the handle top wall 54. Lugs 69 von the handle bottom wall 65 engage the body iront wall to limit the outward movement of the'handle 63 with respect to the body I n order to rigidly lock the pivoted handle 63 in its projected position shown in Figure '7, a latching ,device is provided and comprises a latch lever l0 pivotally mounted 0n a pin 'H supported on a pair of arms '|2 in the body 5E, and one end of the lever is provided with a pair of lever arms 13 which engage the edge T4 of the handle 53 and are at all times urged into such engagement by a torsion spring 'E5 about the pin 7|. The opposite end of the latch lever is provided with a lever arm 'i6 which at all times projects beyond the body 99 toward the casing nat bottom wall l 9 and is engageable with an abutment or latch trip pin 'H mounted on the casing flat bottom wall alongside of the elongated slot 52 adjacent the end 56 thereof, whereby when the lever arm 'i6 engages the trip pin 7l the lever arms 'i3 are moved out of engagement with the edge 'M of the handle 53.

When it is desired to clean the bag 3| the front end cap I4 is removed and the cleaner upended to its bag cleaning position with the end wall 2| of the casing I0 resting upon a supporting surface which is preferably provided with a paper to receive the dirt dislodged from the bag 3|.

The operator places the palm of his hand on the force receiving surface 64 of the handle 63 and exerts a force thereon, and the handle 63 is maintained in its projected position as shown in Figure 'l by the latch lever arms 'i3 engaging the lower edge 'lli of the handle 63. The force exerted on the handle 63 moves the latter and the slide 4|] downwardly toward the supporting surface and such movement collapses the bag 3| by shifting the closed bag end wall 33 toward the supporting surface and also compresses the spring 48, as illustrated in Figure 5. When the handle 63 reaches the end of its downward stroke the lever arm i6 strikes the abutment 'il which disengages the lever arms 13 from the lower edge 14 of the handle 63 and permits the latter to move to its collapsed position shown in Figure 8. Upon movement of the handle 63, by the manually applied force, to its collapsed position the top wall 64 of the handle is positioned at a less angle to the casing compared to its projected .position and approaches parallelism with the casing flat bottom wall |9 whereby the operators hand slides off of the handle 63 to release the latter. The compressed spring 48 then moves the bag 3| to its taut condition and the slide 40 and handle body 6|! to their initial positions, while the spring 61 pivots the handle 63 back to its projected position shown in Figure '7, for another bag-shaking operation.

If desired the handle 63 may be manually reciprocated by the operator grasping the handle 63 at its top wall 64 and bottom wall 65 but limiting the downward stroke so as not to strike the abutment l1 to trip the latch lever 10, and the handle 63 will be held rigid with respect to the body 69 by the lever arms 13 engaging the handle lower edge M and the lug 69 abutting the body 60.

Although the filter-shaking handles and 63 have been described as manipulated by operators hand, both'of the handles can be manipulated by the operators foot, and if necessary the handles can be relocated toward the front end of the cleaner casing.

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner, a casing, a dirt lter in said casing, filter-shaking means including actuating means mounted for movement to shake said lter, said actuating means having a force receiving member movable to different degrees of inclination with respect to the direction of movement of said actuating means, locking means maintaining said force receiving member at one inclination to said direction of movement to receive an operator applied force for moving said actuating means in one direction, and means operative toward the end of movement of said actuating means in said one direction to render said locking meansinoperative and permit movement of said force receiving member to a less inclined position by said operator applied force.

2. In a suction cleaner, a casing, a dirt lter in said casing, lter-shaking means including a slidably mounted member and a force receiving member movable With said slidable member, said member movably mounted on said slidable member to different degrees of inclination with respect to the direction of movement of said slidable member, locking means maintaining said force receiving member at one inclination to the direction of movement of said slidable member to receive an operator applied force for moving said slidable member to shake said lter, and means on said casing operative toward the end of movement of said slidable member to render said locking means inoperative and permit movement of said force receiving member to a less inclined position by said operator applied force.

3. In a suction cleaner; an elongated casing; said casing having an exhaust end and a suction end; a filter bag supported within said casing; means for attaching the open end of said lter bag to the interior of the suction end of said casing with its closed end extending toward the exhaust end of said casing; a slide bar mounted for reciprocation on said casing; said slide bar having a force applying end and a force transmitting end; the force transmitting end of said slide bar being positioned adjacent the Closed end of said lter bag and the force applying end being positioned adjacent the exhaust end of said casing; a support at all times rigidly connecting the closed end of said iilter bag to the force transmitting end of said slide bar; manually engageable force applying means attached to the force applying end of said slide bar; springs means connected to said slide bar so as to bias it, said support, and the closed end of said filter bag toward the exhaust end of said casing to normally maintain said lter bag in a taut condition; the arrangement being such that a manual application of force to said force applying means in a direction to move said slide bar, support and the closed end of said lter bag toward the suction end of said casing against the bias of said spring means will move said slide bar, support and the closed end of said lter bag toward the suction end of said casing to collapse said lter bag, and the removal of the aforesaid manually applied force will cause said spring means to return said slide bar, support, and the closed end of said lter bag toward the exhaust end of said casing and snap said filter bag to its taut condition to dislodge any dirt accumulated on its interior.

EUGENE L. SNYDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,192,357 Leathers Mar. 5, 1940 2,211,934 McAllister Aug. 20, 1940 2,266,976 Leathers Dec. 23, 1941 2,498,102 White Feb. 21, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 410,524 Great Britain May 24, 1934 '700,388 Germany Mar. 6, 1941 

